Feeding means for longitudinal objects in their longitudinal direction

ABSTRACT

Timber in many cases is fed in its longitudinal direction by contact with jags on a driven roll. In certain cases the roll can be built up of plates carrying the jags and extending in the longitudinal direction of the roll. According to the invention, these plates can be rockingly mounted about axles in parallel with the roll axle, so that always two adjacent plates can adjust themselves to be on the same plane, thereby doubling the drive force compared with the conventional arrangement with stationary plates and reducing the tendency of sliding.

United States Patent Lindblom 1 Aug. 29, 1972 [54] FEEDING MEANS FOR [56] References Cited LONGITUDINAL OBJECTS IN THEIR LONGITUDINAL DIRECTION UNHED STATES PATENTS 72 Inventor: Karl Tho].e Lindblom, Alfta, 2,867,253 "1959 Coalwell ..i44/246 A Sweden 475,628 5/1892 Stombs ..l44/246 C [73] Assignee: gags? Fabriks Alfta Primary Examiner-Richard E. Aegerter Attorney-Pierce, Schefi'ler & Parker [22] Filed: Feb. 19, 1971 21 Appl. No.2 116,965 [57] ABSTRACT Timber in many cases is fed in its longitudinal [30] Foreign Application Priority Data direction by contact with jags on a driven roll. in cer- M h tain cases the roll can be built up of plates carrying are 3, 1970 Sweden .2765 the jags and extending in the longitudinal direction f the roll. According to the invention, these plates can iii P638?.1:111111111111111???1T6.1?? 263332535 be wckingly mounted about axles in Parallel M the 581 Field Of Search ..l98/l67, 127, 200-, 193/37; we, that always adjacent Plates can adjust 144/246 R, 246 A, 246 C; 29/121; 226/124, 192

themselves to be on the same plane, thereby doubling the drive force compared with the conventional arrangement with stationary plates and reducing the tendency of sliding.

7 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures rATENTEonuczs m2 3.6872 71 SHEET 2 OF 2 F|G.3 0 Q FEEDING MEANS FOR LONGITUDINAL OBJECTS IN THEIR LONGITUDINAL DIRECTION This invention relates to a means for feeding longitudinal objects, such a timber, in their longitudinal direction in such a way that the object is taken along by its contact with jagged plates, which extend to the side of each other along the outer surface of a rotary roll in the longitudinal direction thereof.

Jagged rolls of the conventional type when they are utilized for feeding logs do not satisfactorily safely engage with the logs, because the continuously curved outer surface of the roll provides only for a short distance contact between the log and the jags. This less effective engagement results in a sliding of the logs and damaging of valuable surface wood, and it further causes jerkiness and time losses in the feeding operation, which has a reactive effect on the subsequent processing steps, such as delimbing, barking, crosscutting etc., which in many cases are fully automatic or semi-automatic. It would be obvious to the expert to try to eliminate the sliding by considerably increasing the height and contact pressure of the jags and thereby to increase the penetration depth, but this again would result in substantial damages of the surface wood.

For eliminating the sliding, the present invention follows an entirely different way. To achieve this object the feeding means according to the invention is characterized in that the plates are rockingly mounted about axles in parallel with the axle of the roll.

The invention is described in greater detail in the following, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which FIGS. 1 and 2 show in sections schematic end views of two different embodiments of the roll comprised in the feed means,

FIG. 3 shows a longitudinal section through a roll corner at the embodiment according to FIG. 1, and

FIG. 4 shows a spread view of the outer surface of the roll.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, 1 designates one end wall of a longitudinal rotary roll, which end wall here is of polygonal shape. At the embodiment according to FIG. 1, a rod 2 extending between the two end walls of the roll is rotatably mounted at its ends in each corner of the polygonal end wall periphery, for example via an end journal received in a corresponding recess in the edge portion of the end wall. For steadying the rod along its length, extra supporting members or intermediate end walls may be placed between the outer end walls. As shown in the drawing, a plurality of rods 2 extend between said end walls, each rod being rotatably mounted adjacent a comer of the polygonal end wall periphery. Each of said rods carries a longitu dinal plate 3, which in its turn carries on its upper surface a set of jags 4 of conventional design. In FIG. 4 these jags are shown in groups arranged in inclined parallel rows with connection one to the other from one plate to the other. The plate 3 projects with each end beyond the end wall periphery, as shown in FIG. 3, and can then rock about the central axle A of its rod 2 between the two end positions defined by the abutment of the plate to one or the other of the straight end wall edges 5 on both sides of said corner. The dash-dotted lines in FIG. 1 indicate the end positions inclined to each other of two adjacent plates.

The arrangement described above operates as follows.

Upon the introduction of a log between the upper surface of the rotating roll and an overlying resilient pressure member, which may be a pressure-actuated smooth roll or a roll similar to the underlying one, at first the jag row, which is located farthest ahead in the feeding direction (counterclockwise in the Figure) on the uppermost plate contacting the log, catches the log, followed by the second, third and fourth row, whereafter the plate along its entire width is in engagement with the log. By the invention, thus, a long contact distance is obtained during which the engagement with the log is fixed, i.e., the jags are standing still relative to the log, which is contrary to the situation at the conventional jagged rolls with their extremely short contact distance during which, moreover, the jags continuously move forward and backward in the axial direction of the log. At the same time as one plate, which during the fixed engagement performs a corresponding rocking motion, shows a beginning tendency of a successive disengagement (after its rocking axle A has passed the vertical to the roll center), the next following plate has commenced its engaging motion with a subsequent fully developed and fixed engagement for a long contact distance, etc.

When, nevertheless, a tendency of sliding should arise, this is effectively counteracted by the next following plate which, owing to the rearward slide of the log in relation to the engaging plate, immediately is rocked down to fully developed engagement with the log, thereby advancing the log momentarily with twice the force, i.e., the plates place themselves in one plane with one another, as indicated by dash-dotted lines for the two uppermost plates in FIG. 1 (but in a horizontal plane at horizontal log introduction). The resulting effective and fixed engagement, thus, corresponds to the plane spread of two adjacent plates 3 shown in FIG. 4. FIG. 4 also shows the pattern of arrangement of the jags 4, viz in parallel rows inclined relative to the longitudinal direction of the plate and extending aligned from one plate to the other.

Owing to the fact, that the plates at the embodiment according to FIG. I are located with their rocking axle A below the upper plate surface carrying the jags (seen in the direction to the roll center), the plate is given a certain tendency of turning over. This tendency can be overcome by the variant shown in FIG. 2.

In FIG. 2, the plate 3 carrying the jags 4 is mounted on a semicylindric member 6 instead of on the round rod 2 in FIG. 1. The ends of said member 6 can be received in corresponding recesses on the inside of the edge portion of the end wall I, but the mounting proper is moved to the central line B for the upper surface of the plate 3, along which line a trunnion can project into an edge flange 7 (indicated by dash-dotted lines) with connection to the end wall. By this mounting of the plate about the axle B every tuming-over tendency is eliminated. The rocking motion of the plate is limited, as in FIG. 1, by the straight stop edges 5 between the corners of the end wall periphery.

The invention is not restricted to the embodiments shown, but different modifications can be imagined. The construction assembled of rod 2 and plate 3, as shown in FIG. 1, can be replaced by a one-piece unit,

viz a rod, which is flattened between the ends to form the plate. The flattening can be carried out such that, after desire, the upper surface of the plate is located above the rocking point of the rod, as in FIG. 1, or on the same level as the rod, as in FIG. 2. The mounting proper, of course, also may be varied in many different ways. instead of mounting the ends of the members carrying the plates in the end walls proper, the roll can be provided with a shell of a thickness sufficient to include longitudinal mounting grooves for round bar or semicylindric members. Furthermore, the stop members for the rocking motion of the plates can be designed in a different way than shown. The plates, finally, instead of having the rectangular cross-section shown may, in principle, be arched somewhat in which case the jags preferably should have a height varying in the transverse direction of the plate, so that the points of the jags substantially terminate in the same plane. The invention, of course, can also be applied to longitudinal objects other than logs.

What I claim is:

1. A feeding rotary roll for advancing elongated objects, such as timber, in their longitudinal direction, comprising a peripheral surface formed by a plurality of jagged plates extending adjacent to each other along the longitudinal direction of the roll, each plate being provided with pivot means enabling the plate to rock around an axis parallel with the axis of the roll, and means limiting the rocking motion of each plate.

2. A feeding roll according to claim I, wherein the plates have a plane upper surface supporting plural rows of jags of equal height.

3. A feeding roll according to claim 2, wherein said means for limiting the rocking motion of the plates comprises stop members for defining an end position for the plates, in which position each pair of plates rocked towards each other are located in the same plane.

4. A feeding roll according to claim 1, wherein each plate is pivoted about an axis substantially coinciding with the center line for the upper surface of the plate.

5. A feeding roll according to claim 1, wherein each plate is pivoted about an axis which, seen in the direction towards the center axis of the roll, is located below, and in parallel with, the center line for the upper surface of the plate.

6. A feeding roll according to claim 1, wherein the jags on each plate are arranged in substantially parallel rows inclined with respect to the longitudinal direction of the plate.

7. A feeding roll according to claim 6, wherein the inclined parallel jag rows on each plate are aligned with the rows of the surrounding plates. 

1. A feeding rotary roll for advancing elongated objects, such as timber, in their longitudinal direction, comprising a peripheral surface formed by a plurality of jagged plates extending adjacent to each other along the longitudinal direction of the roll, each plate being provided with pivot means enabling the plate to rock around an axis parallel with the axis of the roll, and means limiting the rocking motion of each plate.
 2. A feeding roll according to claim 1, wherein the plates have a plane upper surface supporting plural rows of jags of equal height.
 3. A feeding roll according to claim 2, wherein said means for limiting the rocking motion of the plates comprises stop members for defining an end position for the plates, in which position each pair of plates rocked towards each other are located in the same plane.
 4. A feeding roll according to claim 1, wherein each plate is pivoted about an axis substantially coinciding with the center line for the upper surface of the plate.
 5. A feeding roll according to claim 1, wherein each plate is pivoted about an axis which, seen in the direction towards the center axis of the roll, is located below, and in parallel with, the center line for the upper surface of the plate.
 6. A feeding roll according to claim 1, wherein the jags on each plate are arranged in substantially parallel rows inclined with respect to the longitudinal direction of the plate.
 7. A feeding roll according to claim 6, wherein the inclined parallel jag rows on each plate are aligned with the rows of the surrounding plates. 